1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a jettisonable sabot for a subcaliber projectile for firing from a rifled weapon barrel, wherein the sabot is comprised of a sabot body and a sabot jacket, both of which are divisible into segments in order to permit separation of the sabot during exit of the projectile from the weapon muzzle.
2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention and Material Information
In a known prior art subcaliber projectile of this type, as exemplified by European patent publication EP-A-O 300 373, as well as cognate U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,815,682 and 4,901,646, the individual segments of a sabot tail portion are divided from each other via radial, flat parting planes. With this type of a subdivision of the sabot tail portion into three or more segments, difficulties are encountered at the separation of the sabot from the projectile body at the exit of the projectile from the barrel muzzle. On one hand, the individual segments, at separation, impede each other and, on the other hand, impact with the projectile body and deflect same from its trajectory so as to impair its impact accuracy. In addition, the known sabot body, divided radially through its center, is susceptible to small manufacturing inaccuracies. The segments having such inaccuracies, cannot freely release from the fin-stabilized projectile and transfer, during separation, the impulses caused by the small asymmetries to the projectile body. These unwanted impulses cause strong initial oscillations, which in turn produce greater impact deviations as well as flight time deviations.
German patent DE-30 50 474 C1 describes a sabot for a sabot fin-stabilized projectile having a pre-segmented, machined, slit, single piece body. In order to obtain increased stability of the sabot during simplified manufacturing, the slots are added to the form of the single piece sabot body so that additional workpiece material bridgings form reference fracture locations between the individual pre-segments, whereby the slots, for sealing purposes, are filled with corresponding elements made of sheet metal. With reference to an embodiment for a second sabot the additional specified workpiece material bridge in the axial center region of the sabot arrangement body is formed via opposingly arranged slots, each of which lies in a plane parallel with the diameter. In order that this additional workpiece material bridge fulfills its function as a reference fracture location, the parallel displacement of the slots can only be very minor. In addition, at the separation of the sabot from the projectile, the interfering influence upon the projectile via the uncontrolled mutual touching with one of the segments is to be reduced via an increase in the number of sabot elements.